Rogue
by MDDC26
Summary: COMPLETE! A Without a Trace and NCIS crossover, mainly WaT. Samantha and Tony go missing in New York City. Time is running short for Jack and Gibbs to find thier missing team members
1. Chapter 1: Waking Up

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing but my imgination... Sadly

**Author****'s Note: **Welcome to my Without a Trace, NCIS crossover. Just so readers know, I don't actually know when it's set so something's may not make sense, please just ignore WHENthings happened on the shows because I may have changed it to fit the story.

Samantha Spade awoke groggily to an unfamiliar room. She jolted as memories of the previous night came back to her. She'd been with Anthony DiNozzo, an old friend of hers she had met in D.C. They'd gone out to Central Park and Anthony had been telling her about his life as an agent for NCIS, whilst she in turn had told him about her role in the FBI's missing persons unit. She hadn't seen him in such a long time, it was a pleasant surprise to run into him at the restaurant she'd been having dinner at with the team.

She looked around the room and found she recognised Tony seated next to her. She saw two men standing next to the door and both were armed to the teeth. She was bound to a chair and had masking tape stuck to her mouth as a gag, there was also a trickle of something wet down her neck, she thought it may have been blood. Silently she began to panic. She closed her eyes and struggled to remember how they'd come to be in their present situation. She and Anthony had left the restaurant, and they'd gone to Central Park, for a walk before cutting through the backstreets of New York to get to his hotel. But then they'd found themselves surrounded by a group of about six men. She slipped easily into a defensive stance, recognising a dangerous situation. Hands had held her arms by her side and she'd felt a sharp blow to the head before succumbing to unconsciousness.

Glancing to the side she saw Tony begin to stir, and breathed a sigh of relief. She heard muffled sounds coming from his mouth, and if their situation hadn't been so dire, she might have giggled at the way his eyes snapped open.

Tony didn't know what the hell was going on. It was an unfamiliar warehouse, somewhere in the streets of New York City. He saw Sam next to him and cursed silently.

_Great _he thought, the one time I get kidnapped she has to be with me and to make it worse I don't know where we are, or _why_ we've been kidnapped. I hope someone realises we're missing soon; I have a feeling things are going to get ugly. As soon as the thought crossed his mind, their captors noticed they had come around.

"Hello Samantha, long time no see." One of the men leered at her. Sam's eyes widened in recognition of the former FBI agent. It was James Cooper. Jack had worked with him on a case a few years ago. James had been crooked and they had taken him into custody to await trial, and he'd been denied bail. That was the last she'd seen of him. Ice wrapped around her heart as she suddenly realised, this wasn't about her or Anthony. It was about Jack.

Tony looked at Samantha curiously._ She knew him?_

"How's your lover? How's Jack?" James asked. Samantha realised that he still thought Jack still had feelings for her. She swallowed the bitterness that rose in her, even now it still hurt. Tony saw the bruised look in her eyes, and wondered what Jack had done to hurt her so much. Samantha glared defiantly at James, who smirked infuriatingly.

"That's right, you can't talk, let me help with that." He strode forward and tore the tape off her face.

Sam spat at him, and received a sharp blow to the face for her trouble. Her eyes watered and her cheek stung from the impact. This could not get worse, she thought. She knew they would get through this ordeal; the only question in her mind now was whether it would be in one piece. She just hoped the team would find them before somebody died.


	2. Chapter 2: Sam's Missing

**New York **

Vivian walked cautiously into Jack's office, and found him seated at his desk.

"Jack?" she called softly

"Yeah Viv," He replied tiredly

"It's about… Sam," Vivian knew she had to tread softly on this subject. Jack looked up sharply.

"What about her?" He asked,

"Jack, she's missing." Since there was no other way to tell him, Vivian felt it may be easier to tell him straight out. Seeing the anguish that filled Jack's eyes, she wished that she could take back those three words.

"When?" he asked,

"She never returned to her apartment last night, and it's now 12pm. She hasn't shown up to work. Jack, it's not like her to be late without an explanation."

"Has anybody been to her apartment? Or that friend of hers' hotel?" he asked.

"I thought it would be best I spoke to you first. Martin's been trying to ring her for about an hour, but she hasn't answered. We have nothing on that friend of hers, Anthony? We're running him through any known database now." Vivian replied.

"Okay. I'll be there in a second." Vivian left his office. Jack didn't know what he would do if he lost Sam. He knew their affair was over, but still he couldn't bring himself to move on. It had been for the best, his reasons had been considerate of his family, his daughters, and her job. If they had been found out, they both would have lost their jobs. Jack sighed and rubbed his eyes. He was just so tired. He got up from his chair, and went into the office. On the whiteboard were the pictures of the two missing persons. Jack's eyes went immediately to Sam's desk.

"Jack!" Danny called. "We've found something. Her friend, Anthony DiNozzo, His name and photo came up in one of the databases, Jack he's an NCIS agent. He was on vacation in New York. Somebody needs to tell his boss he's missing; it's likely NCIS will want to be involved." Danny handed him a sheet of paper with the number for NCIS.

"Fine, The director is," Jack glanced down at the sheet, "Jenny Shepard?"

When Danny nodded, Jack said,

"I'll take care of it. Danny, you and Martin go to Sam's, see if there is anything there."

"Sure. Martin!" Danny walked off to find his partner. Jack went back to his office to phone Director Shepard; He punched in the number and waited.

"Director Shepard's office, how may I help you?" asked a voice over the line.

"Yes this is special agent Jack Malone of the Missing person's unit; I was hoping to speak to Director Shepard?" He replied.

"Director Shepard isn't in at the moment, but I can give her a message if you wish."

"Could you please inform Director Shepard, that another agent and myself will be arriving this afternoon. Is there anybody else I could speak with? The matter is fairly urgent and it's in regard to one of her agents." Jack was getting impatient.

"You could speak to Agent Gibbs?"

"Put him on." Jack waited, tapping his fingers impatiently on the desk.

"Gibbs speaking," A male voice said.

"Yes, Agent Gibbs. I'm Special Agent Jack Malone of the FBI's Missing Person's Unit, I've been told that agent Anthony DiNozzo is a member of your team, is that correct?"

"Yes, it is."

"Late last night he and an agent from my unit went missing. We are trying to investigate their whereabouts." Jack told him, "Another agent and myself will be coming down to Washington this afternoon to speak with you team and members of Agent DiNozzo's family."

"That won't be necessary Agent Malone; my team will be coming to New York to assist in your investigation."

"Agent Gibbs that will not be necessary,"

"Yes, it will be. This is MY agent, Agent Malone. What would you do?" Gibbs asked.

"I know what I would do Agent Gibbs, a member of my team is also missing." Jack snapped.

"Exactly. My team and I will be there shortly" He hung up. Jack sat at his desk staring at the phone in hand for a second before putting it back where it belonged. He walked back into the main office.

"Viv, we've got company." He told her.

"NCIS?" Viv asked

"NCIS," Jack confirmed sourly.


	3. Chapter 3: DiNozzo's Missing

**Washington 12:40pm**

Gibbs slammed the phone back onto the receiver. Damn Malone! Gibbs grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair and stormed across the office,

"McGee, Ziva, with me. We're going to New York!" He strode toward the elevator.

"Boss! Wait up." McGee and Ziva raced after him, and made it barely in time to catch the elevator.

"What's up?" McGee asked

"DiNozzo's missing." McGee's brow furrowed, and Ziva's mouth dropped open in shock.

"Missing, are you sure boss?" McGee asked. Gibbs slashed McGee a looked that should have left him bleeding.

"Agent Malone of the FBI missing persons unit just called me McGee, DiNozzo and one of his agents have gone missing." On the surface Gibbs was in a foul mood. But that was just a mask. Gibbs was worried; he couldn't shake the feeling that something worse was bound to happen. The elevator stopped at Abby's lab.

"Abs!" Gibbs called, he found her seated in her office drinking a CafPow.

"Hey Gibbs! What's up?" She asked brightly, taking a sip from her CafPow. "Ooh, don't tell me, we have another case!"

"Yeah, Tony's missing." Abby almost dropped her drink.

"What!? When, how, who…"

"Abby calm down." Gibbs ordered, Abby quieted down.

"We're going to New York; I don't know when we'll be back. This Agent Malone doesn't sound happy that we're coming. We're just going to have to tread carefully. Abs, can you get in touch with Tony's family? See if any of them know anything?" He asked

"Sure thing Gibbs," Gibbs walked passed her toward the elevator and squeezed her shoulder comfortingly. "We'll find him Abs."

"I know you will….you're Gibbs!" Abby replied.

Gibbs stood in the elevator and threw out instructions.

"Pack a bag; meet me at the airport at 2:00. Don't be late or we leave without you." Ziva and McGee nodded, and went in their separate directions.

Gibbs went down to see Ducky.

"Jethro, what can I do for you?" Dr. Mallard asked.

"We're going to New York Ducky." Gibbs told him.

"Any particular reason?"

"Tony's missing."

"Oh, when will you be back?" Ducky asked.

"Don't know." Gibbs started to leave the morgue,

"Jethro, do find him." Gibbs acknowledged Ducky's words with a wave of a hand.

Gibbs returned home briefly to pack a bag enough to get him through a week or so in New York. Then he headed to the airport.

* * *

New York- Later that Day

Gibbs stepped into the car provided for them with Ziva and McGee. Gibbs stared moodily out the window.

"Gibbs?" Ziva called

"Yeah,""

"What's actually happened to Tony? Do you have details?" she asked. Ziva was worried; it wasn't like Tony to disappear.

"I don't know. Agent Malone doesn't want us on this case Ziva." Gibbs said the other agent's name as though it was a disease. He was pissed off, very pissed off.

"Why not?" asked Ziva

"Territoriality. Comes with being an FBI agent," Gibbs replied sourly. Under his breath, so the other two didn't hear it Gibbs muttered, "And stupidity."

The other two agents glanced at each other. It was going to be a long case.

The driver slowed the car,

"Sir, we've arrived." Called the driver, Gibbs opened the door and found an agent awaiting their arrival. Ziva and McGee stepped out of the car behind him.

"Agent Gibbs?" Gibbs nodded.

"I'm Agent Malone." They shook hands, "if you'll follow me, we have a lot of work to do."

They walked into the building and Agent Malone filled him in on the details of the case. They stood in silence as the elevator took them up to the office. Jack didn't want NCIS interfering in his case, but he suspected that this Agent Gibbs would tell him to shove it if he told him as much.

Ziva and McGee watch the meeting of the two with some apprehension. They'd seen how annoyed Gibbs was on the ride over, and couldn't help but wonder whether Agent Malone would survive this investigation. Unknown to them, Agent Johnson was wondering the same thing about Gibbs.

The elevator stopped and Jack stepped out. He led the way into the office where his team were working. They all stopped what they were doing when they noticed the other three people.

"This is Agent Gibbs of NCIS," Gibbs nodded in greeting. He pointed to Viv.

"This is Agent Vivian Johnson," he introduced the rest of his team, "This is Agent Martin Fitzgerald and Agent Danny Taylor."

Gibbs nodded to each in turn; then pointed to his team.

"This is Officer Ziva Davide and Agent Timothy McGee." Tony gave a slight wave of his hand. Jack took the lead.

"Okay, we don't actually have very much so far, but Viv, I want you and Martin to question the restaurant staff, see if they saw anything when Sam and Anthony left."

"Danny, you and Agent McGee go to Anthony's hotel and Sam's house, see if you can find something," The phone on Sam's desk rang, Martin answered it,

"Jack… it's for you." Jack took the phone, looking quizzically at Martin.

"Agent Malone speaking," Jack instantly recognised the voice that came through on the line, it sent shivers down Jack's spine

"Ja-ack," the voice sang, "how you been? Long time no see."

"James."

"Are you missing something Jack?" James asked

"You know damn well I am. What have you done to her?" Jack asked angrily.

"Oh she's fine. Her friend isn't though, my boys have having a wonderful time with him. He doesn't even scream. I bet she'll scream prettily though." James' voice was amused.

"What do you want?" Jack asked.

"Nothing much, money say five million, safe passage out of America and a clean slate. I want all the charges dropped, and the guarantee that the FBI won't come looking for me."

"That's not going to happen James. You know that." Jack replied.

"I know, but I want to see how far you'll go. It will be so much fun, watching you squirm. I'll even have my chance with Samantha."

"You touch her, and I'll personally guarantee you won't see the next sunrise you…" The line went dead, Jack slammed the phone down.

"James Cooper." Vivian froze, Danny swore.

"What does he want? I thought he was in prison." asked Danny.

"He was," Jack replied. "Obviously he's not any more."


	4. Chapter 4: James Cooper

"Who's James Cooper?" asked Martin.

"James Cooper is an ex-FBI agent turned arms-dealer. Jack found him out, and handed him over to the authorities. He was in custody until recently; looks like he's not any more," replied Viv.

Jack's face was white with fury.

"This isn't about Sam. It was _never _about Sam. It's me. Again," Martin looked at Jack, something close to fury on his face. Gibbs took all this in with some reservations about this team's professionalism. He cleared his throat.

"Agent Malone, are you saying this is a revenge kidnapping? Against _you_? Why would they take one of your agents, and not a family member? Or even yourself. This makes no sense and what does DiNozzo have to do with anything?" Gibbs was becoming increasingly irritated with a lack of answers he was getting. Jack turned to the other agent, and looked at him appraisingly.

"Yes, it's about me. They wouldn't take my family because they don't know about them, and I don't know why it wasn't me. This has nothing to do with Anthony; he was simply in the way at the time when they took Sam." Gibbs noticed the look of concern in Jack's eyes, the weary slump of his shoulders and the stubborn set of his face. He knew there was something more than what he was telling him.

"Could we have a word in private, Agent Malone?" Gibbs asked pointedly. Jack nodded, and made a "follow me" gesture with his hand. He led Gibbs to his office and carefully closed the door.

"Agent Malone, what aren't you telling me?" Gibbs asked, "You and Agent…Spade? Were once involved, weren't you?"

"That is none of your business, Agent Gibbs." He replied stiffly.

"It is my damn business Agent Malone, if one of _my_ agents is missing because of it." Gibbs snapped. Jack stared at the other man, and sighed tiredly.

"Yes, we _were_ involved. At the time James was an FBI agent, we were involved. My guess is that he somehow found that out, and believes that, by taking her he will be able to break me, to repay me for putting him behind bars." Gibbs studied Jack.

"And will it?" Jack was tempted to say no, but knew that he wasn't certain about that. He didn't know what his feelings were for Sam any more.

"I… don't know." Jack replied truthfully, and seeing the look in Martin's eyes when Jack had revealed this was about himself, he wasn't entirely sure that Martin wouldn't hate him if they didn't get Samantha back in one piece.

"And what about Martin?" Gibbs asked, remembering the look on the young agent's face.

"What about him," Jack replied carefully.

"Can he be trusted? He didn't seem to like you very much in there." Gibbs stated bluntly.

"I honestly don't know about Martin. If you had asked me prior to this point, whether I could trust him, my answer would have been yes." Jack was startled that Agent Gibbs had noticed Martin's face. The other man was proving very observant.

"James was a good friend of mine, and a good agent, Agent Gibbs. I hated doing that to him, but I had no choice. There was no other way."

"Agent Malone, sometimes…we have to do things that we don't want to. It wasn't your fault." Gibbs' attitude toward this man softened slightly. Jack smiled wryly,

"Thank you and… Call me Jack."

"People just call me Gibbs."

Jack knew he was going to butt heads with Gibbs… a lot, but they needed to work together to find Sam, before it was too late.

"Jack, is it possible that this thing is a ruse, to hide the real purpose of the kidnapping?" Gibbs asked.

"No, I don't think so. That was James Cooper's voice."

"Can we track where the call was coming from?" Gibbs asked.

"Yeah, we can. Do you and your team know your way around New York?" Jack asked,

"No, not really."

"Then would you mind if I sent them with one of my agents?" Jack asked.

"It's your city, but I do want my people involved Jack, Tony's part of my team."

"Understood."

The other agents were studying the pair in Jack's office. Ziva and McGee seemed slightly uncomfortable. Vivian and Danny were watching Martin. All of them had noticed the look he gave Jack. Vivian looked pointedly at Danny, then at Martin. Danny nodded slightly. He understood why he had to keep an eye on his partner, he didn't like it, but he understood.

"Which one do you think will get out of there alive?" Danny joked, trying to lighten the mood. Viv smiled,

"With the mood Jack's in? I don't think Agent Gibbs stands a chance." Their banter made Ziva and McGee stare at the pair of agents. Ziva jumped in to defend Gibbs.

"You would be surprised, Gibbs is pretty pissed off." Vivian and Danny looked at her.

Unbeknownst to the agents, Gibbs and Jack had returned to the office and were privy to every word of this conversation. Gibbs walked up behind his agents and smacked both of them on the back of their heads.

"Ow!" they both said, "What was that for?" Gibbs just smiled.

"Okay, new plan," Jack waited til all the attention was focused on himself and Gibbs again, "Viv, Agent McGee find out where the call came from, Danny and Martin find the files on James Cooper and why the hell he's out. Agent Davide, if you'll come with us. We'll go to the restaurant and see if anyone knows anything" The teams split up.

Jack, Gibbs and Ziva went to the restaurant.


	5. Chapter 5: Getting Back at Jack

**Author's note:** I'm sorry to say, this may be a bit graphic (in terms of violence). I thought I should warn readers before I began. If the story continues along these lines, the rating may change.

**

* * *

****17 Hours missing**

****

Sam couldn't say how long she'd been sitting on the chair. She could see Tony curled up on the floor from the corner of her eye, and he didn't look too good, from where she sat she could see he had a black eye, and blood dripping from his lower lip, they hadn't broken anything…yet. She had heard James' call Jack, and dread settled in her stomach. She tugged on the restraints experimentally, and found that she could twist her hands slightly. Her legs were bound tightly however. She scanned the room, but she couldn't see hers or Tony's guns anywhere. James' had been an FBI agent for a long time, one of the best; she couldn't see how she would get out of this without them getting more hurt.

"Sa-am…" She heard James' singsong croon.

"It's Samantha!" she replied sharply.

"Ahh… but Jack always called you Sam, isn't that right?" James replied, "I wonder why he's allowed when nobody else is, _Samantha._"

"You know damn well why!" James stood behind her now; running one of his hands through her soft blonde locks.

"Now, now Sam. Temper, you wouldn't want your friend to get hurt, would you." Sam swallowed the retort that came to her lips. She caught another glimpse of Tony in her peripheral vision, and knew instantly that she couldn't allow anything more to happen to him.

"What do you want?" she croaked.

"I want Jack to suffer." He replied simply, "I want him to see me torture you and I want him to suffer. I want many things Samantha, but they will come in time."

He came around the chair and stood in front of her. His hand traced a line beginning from her eyebrow, around her eye, along the side of her nose, and gently around her lips. In a split second reaction Sam bit him, hard. James howled, and Sam smiled viciously. Through the darkness she could see his finger bleeding.

"_Bitch!_ Andrew!" he called. One of his cronies went up to DiNozzo and kicked him with enough force to break a couple of ribs.

"Noo!" Sam cried, "Stop it, he didn't do anything!"

James smile was deceptively calm.

"But that is the price for your defiance." Sam slumped in defeat. She wouldn't do anything more if they were going to hurt DiNozzo and not her.

"Fine, I'll do whatever you want, just…let him go!" James laughed.

"Why would I do that my dear?"

"Please! He has nothing to do with this," Sam said desperately.

"No, no he is my assurance of your continued good behaviour, my girl."

"Please! I'm all you need. Jack doesn't care about him!" silently Sam thought, _I'm not even sure if he still has feelings for me!_

"But he's such a good toy for my friends, and I know _you'll_ be even better." Sam paled. _Shit! _She thought.

James smiled malevolently. He reached for the font of Sam's top. In his other hand he held a pocket knife; with it he sliced away the front of the top. A flat, lightly muscled stomach was revealed, and a black lacy bra still covered her breasts. James' eyes widened appreciatively.

"Nice… I can see why Jack was doing you, I can't say much for your taste, although in retrospect it makes sense given he's the boss." Sam stared at him defiantly, "banging the boss is a good career move for you, I must say. Did it get you a pay rise, special treatment, any _privileges_?"

James released her restraints from the chair, and dragged her over to a thick pole standing alone in the middle of the warehouse floor. Her restraints were re-tied so that he arms were pulled up over her head. She could see Tony more clearly from this angle; his face was swollen and severely bruised. She had to swallow hard to keep from being sick.

James took out his knife again, and surveyed her.

"What do to, what to do?" he muttered to himself, he smiled after a moment, "Ahh, yes I really should mark you as mine."

James rested the knife lightly against her abdomen before carving his name on her flesh. Sam didn't give him the satisfaction of hearing her scream. She gritted her teeth in pain, and tears streamed down her cheeks. She could see the expression on Tony's severely beaten face as he watched the name of their tormentor being carved into her skin. She felt the blood flow and couldn't hold back a slight sob.

"Tell me, where is Jack now?" James asked.

"About to put your ass back in prison for life!" Sam spat. That earned her a slap across the face.

"Okay. Answer this, do you this he'll get me acquitted?" James asked.

"Hope not, I'll kill before I let you get out of this country." Sam replied.

James composure slipped, and his face became an ugly mask of conflicting emotions. He hit her again, harder. Sam felt her tooth chip and spat it out.

"That's okay, you'll be dead anyway." James smirked maliciously, "I think it's time to get in touch with Agent Malone once more."


	6. Chapter 6: Cigarettes and Questioning

Jack questioned the Bartender at La Cucina, where they'd gone for drinks the night before.

"Did you see Sam when she left the restaurant?" He asked.

"Yeah, I saw her and her friend leaving. But I wasn't close enough to hear what they were saying."

"Did you see this man?" Jack held up a photo of James Cooper, the bartender took the photo, but after a moment, he shook his head.

"Was there anyone suspicious following them, or maybe hanging around watching us?" Jack asked, slightly disappointed.

"I see lots of faces, so I don't think so," the bartender paused in thought, "There was one guy, a blonde, who was checking her out a fair bit."

"Can you be more specific?"

"I'm afraid not," the bartender shrugged, "She's an attractive young woman Agent Malone, I just thought he was interested in her so I didn't take much notice."

"Jack!" Gibbs called, "Come over here a minute!"

"Thank you." Jack made his way over to where Gibbs and his agent were questioning the wait staff.

"Repeat what you just told me and Agent Davide." Gibbs commanded a young woman with dark hair.

"I was serving a couple near the door, and I saw the couple walk out the door. They mentioned something about Central Park. I didn't hear much else though," Jack's heart leapt. They had a lead, finally. A second later Jack's cell rang. It was a video call. He walked slightly away from the staff and flipped it open.

"Malone."

"Ja-ack," James' voice sounded, "How you doin' Jack, Did you find my money yet?"

"You know quite well that I don't," Jack struggled to keep his temper in check, "How do I know they're even alive?"

"You'll have to take my word for it," James replied with a grin,

"Show me Sam and Tony, and I'll have your money. You just tell me when and where." Jack replied. James' grin widened maliciously. Jack could make out a blonde figure in the distance, and a man curled up on the floor.

"Let me talk to her!"

"Now, now Jack. You've seen them, isn't that enough?"

"How do I know they're alive?" James walked over to Sam. He had a lit cigarette in his hand and he pushed it into the skin on Sam's arm. Sam screamed in pain. Jack could see she was badly beaten, and had cuts and bruises everywhere. He had to blink rapidly to keep tears from his eyes. He cleared his throat, once, twice,

"And Tony?" He asked, almost afraid of the answer, James swung the phone around to the prone figure on the ground. Another man came in and kicked him in the ribs. Tony let out a groan of pain.

"Are you satisfied Jack?" James asked, "Now get my money and acquittal in order. I'll ring you every hour until that is complete, and I'll give you the drop off point. Until then Sam has the pleasure of my company."

James hung up. Jack closed the phone calmly. Then he threw it against the nearest wall, where it fell to the floor with a clatter. The wait staff stepped further away from Jack.

"Jack?" Gibbs asked, startled.

"He's torturing them," Jack's voice came out in a croak, "The bastard is _torturing them_ and it's my fault."

Gibbs looked surprisingly calm.

"What did he say Jack?" Jack took a deep breath

"He said he's going to ring us every hour until we have his money and acquittal in order. I asked him to see them, to prove that they were alive. So to prove they were, he pushed a cigarette into Sam's skin, and one of his people kicked Tony in the ribs." Jack's throat worked convulsively, "She screamed… Sam never screams" Jack's eyes became haunted.

"And DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked urgently.

"He's alive but they're pretty beaten up. We need to go back to the office." Jack declared

"No… Let's follow these leads first." Gibbs replied. Jack could have pulled out his hair in frustration.

"We don't have time Gibbs."

"Yes we do!" Gibbs was getting increasingly frustrated, "If we don't what's to say that we couldn't have found out something to lead us to them."

"Fine!" Jack replied irritated that Gibbs was right.

"Where was Anthony staying?" Jack asked Gibbs

"The Prescott," Gibbs replied, "I don't know where that is."

"I do," replied Jack absently, "it's not too far from La Cucina, but if they went for a walk in Central Park, they could have been taken from anywhere."

"Well, would they have walked to DiNozzo's hotel?" Gibbs asked.

"From the Restaurant to Central park is about 15 minutes, and from the park to the Hotel, it's about a half hour walk, but there's no telling how long they stayed in Central Park. Sam would have known the quickest way there, they would likely have gone the back way."

"Jack, we've got about 45 minutes before he rings again." Gibbs reminded him.

"Okay. Trying to find where they went in Central Park is useless. Our best bet…" Jack's phone rang from the floor again. Jack went to pick it up. He flipped it open.

"Malone."


	7. Chapter 7: Escape

"Jack its Viv; we traced the original call back to a cell phone belonging to a Jeff Lindall, we have a search warrant. As far as we can tell he has no connection to James Cooper, Martin and Danny rang the prison. Turns out James was released on parole, but his parole officer hasn't heard from him in a couple of days," Viv waited.

"Okay, well we found out Sam and Anthony went to Central Park after leaving the restaurant, but it's not much of a lead. Cooper rang my cell, we have video footage too. They seem to be in a warehouse of sorts. He's going to ring back in about 40 minutes, we'll be back at the office and I want the call traced. Tell Danny and Martin to go talk to this Jeff Lindall. Find out what they can." Jack said.

"Will do,"

"How are we going on the money?" Jack asked.

"We have the five million ready, but there's no possible way to get him a full pardon Jack. Not with what he did." Viv replied gently, the other end of the line was silent.

"Try." Jack hung up. Vivian shook her head and replaced the phone on the receiver.

"Martin, Danny! Go check out Jeff Lindall." Viv called. Both agents left immediately. Vivian stared vacantly at Sam's empty desk.

"Agent Johnson?" McGee asked, "Are you okay?" Viv smiled slightly

"I'm fine, thank you Agent McGee."

* * *

"Tony!" Sam hissed weakly, this was the first time there was nobody else in the room all day. It was thankfully silent.

"Tony!"

"Sam?" Tony called painfully,

"Can you get out of your restraints?" She asked quickly, afraid they would come back at any time.

"I think…so" his hands scanned the floor, looking for a sharp object. He found a shard of rock digging into his back. He busily went to work freeing his hands. Once they were free, he could take the restraints off his legs. He tried to stand, but it took him a couple of tries. He had a sharp stabbing pain in his chest, and one of his wrists hung uselessly by his side. He limped over to where Sam was, and tried to free her. They both froze when they heard talking and footsteps outside the door.

"Go!" Sam hissed sharply. Tony looked at her,

"I'll be back for you," he promised. He limped quickly towards the door. He paused at the table where he saw his cell phone; he snatched it and went as quickly as he could. He had to dive behind one of the crates as the door opened and their captors returned. Quietly he dialled Gibbs' number. He hid the cell under one of the crates, hoping Gibbs would answer.

"He's gone!" James yelled, "Where the hell is he, you bitch?"

Tony heard the sound of flesh hitting flesh again, and again. He could also hear the sounds of Sam screaming the words _"I don't know"_ desperately over and over.

"Spread out, search the room, the warehouse, he couldn't have gotten far." James commanded. _Hello? Tony! DiNozzo? Where the hell are you? _Gibbs was on the phone. He heard him call the name Jack, and it made him wonder whether he was in New York.

"Found him!" Tony spun around and saw one of James' men coming toward him. He ran as fast as he could toward the door, flinging it open. He fled through dilapidated corridors, and rooms. The sound of gunfire rang in the corridor and Tony dived, landing awkwardly on his bad hand. He let out a scream of pain.

Two of James' men were closing in on him. He stood up and made a run for it. Shots were fired and a bullet went straight through his leg. He fell face first, the pain in his leg searing through him.

A hand grabbed his arm, and Tony tried to shake it off, half blinded by pain. The last thing he heard as he fell into unconsciousness was,

"Stupid bastard, the Boss ain't going to be happy."

When he awoke again, he was re-bound to a chair, and his leg hurt like hell. He looked down and found it was bleeding freely.

"Clever," James drawled, "but very, very stupid." Tony looked around for Sam. The sight of her made him sick. Her face was purple. Her right shoulder was bruised; making Tony suspect it was dislocated. She had several cuts on her stomach. Shallow enough that they wouldn't kill her, but would still hurt like hell. James leant into Tony's ear and whispered

"That's only the beginning. I always wondered how good a lay she was." Tony's eyes widened furiously. James only smiled.

* * *

Jack stormed into the office, and found Danny and Martin back from their trip to Jeff Lindall's apartment.

"Well?" he asked.

"He wasn't there boss, but we searched his apartment and there wasn't anything there." Danny replied. Jack swore colourfully.

"He was an FBI agent, right?" Gibbs asked.

"Yeah." Jack answered. Gibbs started pacing.

"Well, okay he knows how we work, and if he really is as good as you say, he's not going to leave any traces, no evidence, _nothing_ to indicate he's been in contact. My next suggestion would be to wait until Cooper rings again, we can tell him we have the money and he's been acquitted. Make an official looking document to that effect and get the cash in order." Gibbs opened his mouth to continue talking but his phone rang, a slight frown creased his forehead as he read the Caller I.D; it was Tony.


	8. Chapter 8: All Jack's fault

"Hello? Tony! DiNozzo? Where the hell are you?" Gibbs asked quickly, the only things he heard from the other end were the sound of footsteps, some swearing and the phone disconnecting. Gibbs turned to the team,

"GPS! We can find Tony's phone." Gibbs said triumphantly, "McGee, can you do it?"

"Sure boss." He handed McGee the phone, who took off immediately to his laptop. They all gathered around the laptop except Martin, who sat at his desk looking distant. He was recalling the conversation he'd had with Danny on the way to Lindall's apartment

"_Martin?" Danny had said._

"_Yeah,"_

"_I saw you earlier, when Jack was talking. You didn't look too happy." He said tentatively. Martin glared at Danny_

"_So, what's your point?" he asked._

"_You do stupid things when you're angry Martin. This isn't Jack's fault." Danny said,_

"_IT DAMM WELL IS JACK'S FAULT," Martin yelled irrationally._

"_How?" Danny asked. If Martin was honest with himself, he was madder at Jack for having an affair with Sam in the first place, not because this was his fault. But Martin wasn't feeling very logical, he wanted to be angry at someone and Jack was the perfect target._

Martin shook himself out of his reverie, angrier than ever now. How dare Danny tell him it wasn't Jack's fault? If the bastard hadn't gotten Sam involved she would be here, safe.

He glanced around the room and saw Jack standing with that agent Gibbs. He stormed over there, the two older men watched Martin carefully.

"Martin?" Jack said, "Is there something you want?"

"Can we speak in private?" he asked, surprising himself at how calm he sounded. Jack nodded warily, and looked at Gibbs who nodded and moved away.

Before Jack could open his mouth, Martin took a swing at him. His hand crashed into Jack's jaw, and sent him flying backward.

"You bastard!" he yelled, "If something happens to her, I will hold you personally responsible, and you will pay in the most creative, painful way imaginable."

He moved forward to where Jack lay stunned. But felt hands grasp him, and hold him back. He lashed out at whoever held him, but soon found himself effectively unable to move.

"If you do that again," an accented female voice said softly in his ear, "I will personally break every finger on your hand."

"Ziva!" The pressure on Martin's arms eased up a bit, and he was pulled to his feet. He saw Jack rising to his feet, Viv and Danny both standing by him anxiously. Jack walked slowly over to where Martin stood; he was sporting the beginnings of a rather impressive black eye. Jack grabbed the front of Martin shirt and shoved him so that he was pushed up against a desk.

"If you think for one minute that I ever wanted Sam, or _anyone_ involved in my problems, you are sadly mistaken. If you _ever_ punch me again, I will have arrested on assault charges, and don't think I'm kidding. I need you on this team, but if you work against me, make no mistake, I won't hesitate to have you thrown out of the FBI entirely, and God rot whatever the hell your father says," Jack released the shirt, and stalked off furiously.

"Hey boss?" McGee called uncertainly, "I found Tony's cell!"

Gibbs and Ziva raced over to the computer.

"Where, McGee?" Gibbs asked.

McGee wrote the address on a scrap of paper.

"McGee, Ziva, let's go" Gibbs called from half way across the room.

"Danny, go with them! Call back-up too." Viv said. Danny raced after the three NCIS agents. 

Viv turned to Martin,

"What the _hell_ was that about?" she asked, Martin looked slightly ashamed of himself.

"I… don't know," he sighed, "but Sam is out there, we don't know what's happening, and we have no decent leads. If Jack hadn't…" Martin stopped abruptly. Vivian looked at him.

"So, that's what this is about." Viv replied. "Martin that was a long time ago," Martin smiled bitterly.

"But there are still feelings there Viv; it's quite obvious Jack still loves Sam, even if he won't admit it," Martin said. Vivian didn't have an answer, "See, you know it too."

Martin turned and walked off. Viv shook her head and went to Jack's office.

"Jack?" she called softly, "You okay?"

Jack was seated at his desk staring stonily into space.

"Jack?"

"Viv, when all this is over I _really_ need a vacation,"

Vivian laughed, but her face turned serious.

"Agent McGee traced the call from Anthony. Agent Gibbs, his team and Danny are going there now." Jack shook his head.

"He'll have moved on."

"How do you know that?" Viv asked.

"When you worked with James, did he seem stupid to you?"

"No." Jack's silence was answer enough.


	9. Chapter 9: Broken and Shot

Ziva held her gun at ready. She moved through the warehouse quietly, McGee at her back.

"Ziva," McGee called. Ziva turned. "Look"

McGee pointed to the floor.

"Blood," Ziva confirmed. They searched the floor for more traces and they found a trail leading through a door. McGee flipped open his cell.

"Boss, I think we've found them, on the 2nd floor. There were traces of blood." McGee paused, listening to Gibbs' instructions.

"Sure thing, boss" McGee closed his cell, "They'll be up here in a HEY!" Ziva kicked down the door. McGee swore but followed her.

"Tony!" Ziva spotted a prone form on the floor and rushed forward, but had to duck as shots were fired. Hiding behind a crate she blindly returned fire. She saw McGee enter the room from the corner of her eye. The man who shot at Ziva tried to turn around but McGee shot him twice in the leg before he turned around completely, the shooter collapsed in pain, his gun falling from his hand to land a couple of feet away.

"Tony!" McGee said, knelt next to his team-mate, and checked for a pulse, when he found one he called to Ziva, "Ziva, call the paramedics!"

"McGee!" Gibbs shouted from the hallway,

"Here boss!" McGee shouted back, Gibbs rushed into the room, gun drawn, with Danny at his back. Gibbs saw the man writhing on the ground and rushed over to cuff him. The FBI agent took one look at DiNozzo, and called Jack.

McGee checked Tony's vitals, his eyes made a fast assessment of damage before the arrival of the paramedics made them move. Gibbs' eyes were an icy blue as Tony was transported out of the room on a stretcher. A second stretcher was brought in for their shooter; Danny made two FBI agents go with him.

"McGee! What have you got?" he asked

"Well boss there are traces of blood on the floor near that chair and near the post. It is unclear at this point whether it's Tony's or Samantha's. There is evidence to suggest Tony was bound, possibly gagged. He was severely beaten. That table has finger prints on it, I'm sending all evidence to the FBI lab, but hopefully we should have some results soon. A team from the New York FBI is on it boss."

"Where's Agent Taylor?"

"Ringing his superior," McGee replied. The team searched the room thoroughly for any evidence of where James might be heading next but found nothing.

"Let's get back," Gibbs called, "Ziva, go to the hospital, and check on Tony,"

"On it boss," Ziva called racing out of the room.

"Agent Taylor!" Gibbs called, Danny turned around

"Yes Agent Gibbs,"

"Does Jack have any news, anything new?" He asked.

"No," Danny replied, "_but _James should ring within the next 10 minutes, we should get back to the office, forensics can take care of this." Gibbs nodded tersely.

* * *

"How is Anthony?" Jack asked Danny on the phone, 

_Bad shape, Jack his pulse was very weak, he had the crap kicked out of him, there were a couple of broken ribs, a possible broken wrists, his face was covered in bruises. It looks like he was tortured._

"What about the guy at the scene?"

_Alive, one of the NCIS agents shot him twice in the leg __**and **__we found his cell, he's been taken to the hospital, and two agents are with him. We might be able to get some information off him though._

"James isn't stupid enough to ring him, he knows we'll have traced Tony's cell. Why did he leave Anthony there though?"

_I'm guessing they didn't need him anymore. There's no way he's going to be in any shape to tell us anything for the next few days, and by that time Sam might be…_

"Yeah, I know," Jack replied shortly. "Look, come back to the office, I don't know when we'll get results back from forensics. They'll have cleared that building by now,"

_Sure Jack,_

Jack hung up on Danny, soon after he received another call.

"Malone."

"Hello Jack, did you receive the NCIS Agent back?"

"Yeah, what the _hell_ did you do to him?"

"I would have thought you'd be happy he was still alive."

"Gee, I'd be more appreciative if he was unharmed." Jack replied sarcastically.

"Ahh, but when it was so much fun bringing him back broken. I take it you found the warehouse. Yeah, that was a nice little place, a pity Anthony rang you; I enjoyed my time there."

"Where is Samantha?"

"Here, her face looks so pretty in black and blue,"

"James!"

"How is Agent Gibbs? When you see him, tell him to give my regards to Fornell."

"Fornell?" Jack asked, "What do you want James?"

"I don't suppose if I gave up Samantha you would come willingly?"

"I don't really need to answer that do I?" Jack sounded disbelieving.

"No, I don't suppose so," James replied, "You now have two hours to get my things in order, I'll ring you one final time to give you the drop."

"That won't be necessary, everything's in order." Jack said

"I'm impressed… But I still want a couple of hours with Samantha anyway, to give her a well deserved send off. You understand." James hung up.

Jack slammed down the phone. He rested his head in his hands and sighed, this was one of the longest cases he'd ever worked. And in reality it wasn't even really a case, James had left them _nothing _to go on. They'd had no plausible leads, nothing to track him with, nobody to lead them to him, and in two hours they would give him a free passage out of the country, without any foreseeable means to stop him.

One of his agents was extremely pissed off with him for no apparent reason… no, that wasn't entirely true, he knew why Martin was pissed at him, there just wasn't a damn thing he could do about it.

He walked out into the main office, his eyes skimmed over Martin returning to his desk, and the came to focus on Vivian.

"Viv, James rang. We have two hours in which to get everything organized, he's ringing one more time to give us the drop." Vivian nodded.

"Get Danny back here, there's nothing we can do now but wait.


	10. Chapter 10: Screamer

**Author's note: **Okay, this took way longer than expect and I'm really sorry! Hopefully people haven't given up on me loll… hope it was worth the wait.

* * *

"Samantha!" James called. The room was darkened, and Sam wasn't fully conscious, she had almost passed out from fatigue, blood loss and sheer pain. There wasn't enough damage to kill her; James had made sure of that.

The sadistic gleam in his eye didn't bode well for her future.

"Your boyfriend lost me everything, do you know that? I lost my job, my family, my life. I'm reduced to a fugitive who kidnapped the girlfriend of my downfall."

Sam opened her mouth and coughed weakly, his voice roused her from her pain-induced stupor.

"He's…he's not my...boyfriend." she said.

"Like I believe that."

"Jack… Jack broke… up with me… got back with his… his wife… a couple of years… ago."

"Ah well, that's too bad. Never mind, he still seems pretty worried about you. Wonder what that means."

Samantha coughed again, and spat out some blood.

"I'm a…member…of his t-team…"

"Is that all?" he questioned, "a pity. Do you know I always had a thing for you? No, I don't suppose so. Walking in and out of that office every day, you never noticed how you turned heads, how much male attention you attracted. You were the subject of much... discussion amongst the male members of the FBI."

He ran a possessive hand down her arm, making her wince in pain. He grabbed a towel and wet it with some warm water. With a gentle hand he cleaned all the visible cuts, and wiped the blood off her. By the end, she looked almost her old self. The only things that show her state were the bruises visible on her stomach and face. The bra was a little worse for wear. And she was practically naked from the waist up.

"We have two hours to kill." He mused, "Maybe it's time to…take the next step."

Sam felt her blood run cold. _Surely not_ she thought. She had barely a second to think before the cold blade ripped through the bonds holding her feet. She struggled against the bonds that held her securely to the bench; the only effect was the sound of James' laughter as his face descended on hers.

* * *

Both teams were at headquarters anxiously awaiting the call. Jack was seated at Sam's desk tapping his fingers impatiently. Gibbs and Ziva sat in stony silence, worried about Tony. Viv and Danny sat together exchanging worried glances, and McGee was at the hospital with Tony. Martin sat a little apart from the others, silently fretting about Samantha, and sneaking guilty glances at Jack's black eye.

"Gibbs," Jack began,

"Don't. I'm gunna catch the bastard who did this to DiNozzo." He replied

"Don't you think you really need to be with your agent?"

"No," Gibbs said with steely determination, Jack let it slide. In reality they could use a man with Gibbs' experience and knowledge. They were going into unknown territory against a man who was trained as the best of the FBI. He knew what he was doing, and what he faced. Jack knew he was a good agent but he was working in the dark. The phone on Sam's desk rang shaking him out of his thoughts,

"Malone."

_Hi Jack._

"Where's the drop?"

T_hat was polite,_

"Somehow, being polite is not at the top of my list of priorities at the moment."

_A pity, you were always very abrupt Jack. _

"That's not going to change in the foreseeable future, where the hell is the drop James?"

_sigh__ the roof of Samantha's apartment._

"When?"

_20 minutes, just you and one other._

"That's not enough time,"

_Bad luck, __oh and Jack?_

"What?" he asked tersely.

_I understand why you were doing Samantha,__ she's a real screamer. _

Jack's face went white with shock. The phone clicked, James was gone.

"Jack?" Vivian asked tentatively. Jack's eyes were burning with fury, his face was drawn.

"The drop is at Samantha's apartment, twenty minutes, me and one more person."

There was a clamour as all the agents around him grabbed their guns. Gibbs just watched.

"Well," Vivian asked

"Agent Gibbs." He replied.

The junior agents were slightly disappointed. Vivian understood the reasoning behind Jack's decision, she wasn't happy, but she understood. Martin was furious, Danny was disappointed.

"Why?" Martin asked, Jack looked at him coldly, the blackened eye stood out in Martin's vision.

"I don't trust you, I would gladly take Viv or Danny but since Agent Gibbs is the Senior Agent from NCIS and as this was a joint operation, he is the obvious choice. Viv, you and Danny be our back up, there's not enough time to organise much else."

Martin's face went from flushed to white in the space of the time it took for the words _I don't trust you_ to come out of Jack's mouth.

"Agent Gibbs," Jack said, "Unless you have any objections?"

Gibbs shook his head, and turned to Ziva whose face was unreadable.

"Back us up." She nodded.

The agents left the office with all the necessities. Each wore a bullet-proof vest for protection, they had the documents, and the money in a metal case. The ride to the apartment was almost silent.

"Is this really wise?" Gibbs asked,

"Do we have a choice? There isn't enough time to organise anything else." Jack replied.

"That's why he gave us so little time." Gibbs said.

They parked the car at the front of her apartment building.

"Snipers," Gibbs muttered.

"Where, I see two." Jack replied.

"On the roof across the street and on the neighbouring buildings," Jack's heart was hammering. They were in deep shit.


	11. Chapter 11: She's here

**Author's note: **Okay, in apology for taking so long to post the last chapter here's the next one.

* * *

They crossed the street and entered the apartment building cautiously. They looked around but found nothing out of the ordinary. The climbed the stairwells that lead to the roof. They were stopped by the sight of a well muscled man blocking the door. Another had come up behind them. Gibbs swore silently.

"Hands against the wall," came the soft command, "and spread em."

Gibbs and Jack put down their cases. They assumed the position and were thoroughly searched from head to toe, their weapons confiscated. The man blocking the door moved aside. They made their way onto the rooftop, where a familiar voice met Jack's ears.

"Ja-ackkkk…" James called. He looked quite sure of himself.

"Where's Samantha?" Jack asked,

"She's here, somewhere. Of course she doesn't have very long. See I know you'll have back-up, not much because I didn't give you that much time, but enough. You have the choice. You can spend time chasing me, and run the risk of being shot by snipers, or you can let me go and find Samantha before she bleeds to death." James' face was quite smug.

"Fine," Jack placed his case on the table in front and undid the latches. Gibbs did the same. James looked in and to his satisfaction there was 5 million dollars in hundred dollar bills, and the requested documentation.

"I'm impressed Jack. I didn't expect you to come up with all this so fast," James ran his hand over the cash, his face turning business-like. He closed both containers and handed them to a man behind him, with a whispered word he retreated leaving the three men alone on the rooftop.

"Agent Gibbs, I assume?' Gibbs nodded, his hand itching for a gun.

"Ah, you have quite a reputation amongst the criminal element in Washington you know."

"You would know, being an escaped convict and all."

"Yes, yes, I have Jack here to thank for that. I had a career, a family, and a life but he had to go and ruin it all." He raised his gun to Jack, who swallowed hard.

"Shoot him, and you can kiss your money and everything else you asked for goodbye." Gibbs said softly.

"But he'd be dead, and I'd be happier. Give me one reason why not."

"You'd be dead within a heartbeat." James laughed

"I know for a fact if your back-up comes within 20 feet of this building they'd be shot by snipers. Agent Gibbs, go fetch Samantha from her apartment, I would suggest you call the paramedics."

"How do I know they won't be hurt?" James reached for a phone at his side, dialled a number and put the phone to his ear.

"Yeah, there's going to be some paramedics arriving shortly, they are not to be harmed."

He flipped the phone closed

"Satisfied?" Gibbs looked at Jack who gave a slight nod of his head.

"Go!"

He raced back down the stairs to save the young woman. He found he door barred and kicked it down. There was a pool of blood around a low bench, where the blonde young woman lay.

"Samantha?" he called softly

"J-J-Jack?" she called back hopefully.

"No sweetheart, I'm Special Agent Gibbs, Jack's… on his way." He ran to the phone in the apartment and dialled the Paramedics. They would be there within minutes.

"Agent Gibbs… my back-up… gun. In …my bedroom" she gasped, "Get it…bedside table… bottom draw."

He nodded grimly and raced through the apartment opening every door until he found her room. In the draw he found her back-up and ammo.

A handful of gunshots rang out over the apartment, Gibbs had to fight the urge to run upstairs to check on Jack. The Paramedics finally arrived, and he left Sam in their capable hands and raced upstairs to the roof.

There was nobody at the door. Gibbs stopped at the door and held his gun at ready. He opened the door slowly; he looked through a crack at the building across the street. The sniper had vanished. Opening the door more fully he went through. He saw Jack sprawled on the floor. He was assaulted by the sudden image of Kate on a different rooftop on a different day in very different circumstances.

_Shit! This is not happening!_ He thought.

"JACK!" Gibbs yelled.

Jack stirred and tried to rise. He rushed over and helped Jack sit up.

"Bastard… shot me in… my bad l-leg. Got knocked out… w-when I fell," Jack stayed grimly silent as Gibbs checked his wound. He also had a gash on his forehead from where he hit it against the concrete, "Samanatha?" Jack asked,

"She's going to be fine. It's a through and through but we need to get you to the hospital," Jack shook his head.

"Find… James! He ran across… that r-rooftop!" Jack pointed, "Snipers are gone, he ordered them off."

"We have to get you to a paramedic." Gibbs replied stubbornly.

"We're going to lose them," Jack shouted in frustration. With a sigh, Gibbs rose to his feet, and raced across the rooftops until he reached the end. He looked down and the small street was empty. There was no sign of cars, nothing. There was a ladder a bit further to his left which explained how he got down. Gibbs swore colourfully.

He looked back and people had come upto the roof. He walked back. Vivian and Danny were with Jack, he was being lifted onto the gurney. Paramedics were doing their best to reason with him.

"Jack," Vivian was saying, "You need a hospital, we will find him."

Jack sighed resignedly,

"Fine,"

The paramedics took him down to the ambulance where Martin was with Samantha.

"What are you doing here?" Jack asked coldly, "I thought I told you to stay at the office."

Martin looked at him defiantly.

"If you think for one minute you were going to keep me away you're a complete idiot."

"And if you think for one minute you are going to continue working for me with that attitude you're in for a rude awakening."

There was a tension filled silence between the two.

"I think I'll follow the ambulance in my own car."

"No, I think you'll go back to the office and try to find James if you know what's good for your career." Jack replied. Martin walked away. There was an awkward silence as Jack was put in the ambulance and it drove away.

Gibbs watched the argument in silence, Ziva came upto him.

"I got the number plate." Gibbs looked at her and couldn't supress a grin.

"We have a lead," he called, "Let's get back to your office."

Vivian and Danny nodded; they drove back to the New York office in worried silence. Gibbs sent Ziva to get McGee.

When McGee and Ziva arrived, the teams gathered around the table in the office.

"Danny, can you put out a BOLO out on that car, Agent David can give you the details."

Danny nodded and Ziva followed him out of the office.

"Can you get his picture out to all airports, bus stations everywhere you can. We need to make sure he can't get out of the country. He gets to Mexico and we're screwed." Gibbs said.

McGee nodded and got onto his laptop.

"I'm going to see DiNozzo and Samantha, maybe they remember something."

"I'll grab my coat, two people are better than one," Vivian replied. Gibbs didn't argue.


	12. Chapter 12: At the Hospital

The drive to the hospital took and hour and a half, because of traffic and a car accident. Gibbs didn't know the streets of New York and sat in the passenger's seat clenching and unclenching his hands as they drove too slowly for his liking.

They reached the hospital and asked at the nurses' desk for DiNozzo, Sam and Jack. The nurse told them Sam was still in surgery, and Tony was in his room. Jack was also fine but they were concerned about the gash in his forehead.

Gibbs went into Tony's room and sat beside his wounded agent's bed, Vivian stayed at the door, waiting. DiNozzo stirred in his sleep. He opened his eyes blearily.

"Hey boss," he said, trying to sit up and failing painfully.

"Relax DiNozzo, keep lying down," Gibbs replied gently pushing DiNozzo back into his bed.

"Sure thing," he replied with a cheeky grin, "but if I get up maybe that nurse will…"

Gibbs automatically raised his hand to slap DiNozzo across the back of the head before remembering his injuries.

"If you weren't injured…" Gibbs said exasperatedly. DiNozzo's grin widened.

"Gee boss, you being nice? I mean, not that you not normally, cuz you are but…" DiNozzo winced and shut his mouth. Gibbs looked at his agent and almost laughed. His face was very serious though.

"DiNozzo, can you remember anything about who kidnapped you, what they look like, the car they drive, why they left you at the warehouse?" Tony's face clouded.

"There were a few of them; maybe 9 or 10, one guys' name was James? Sam seemed to know him. They didn't really talk much around us. A couple had semi-automatics, most had hand-guns."

"Sniper rifles?" Gibbs asked intently.

"No, I don't think so. I didn't see any but it's possible. I was almost unconscious most of the time." DiNozzo admitted ashamedly.

"Hey, it wasn't your fault. What did they do, to you and Sam?" Tony's face paled

"It was mainly just roughing me up, kicks, punching, things that would cause bruising. But Sam, James tortured her, like he… he carved his name into her stomach. It was _deep_, and it'll scar." DiNozzo went silent.

"Why'd they leave you there, at the warehouse?"

"I don't know. I mean they all left the room at one stage, and Sam asked if I was able to get out of the ropes, I did and I since they were coming back I didn't have time to get Sam… I grabbed my phone and ran, but they came back too soon. I hid behind one of the crates, a guy found me as I rang you. I shoved the phone under something, but they must have found it. They shot me as I ran down the corridor. That's the last thing I remember before being knocked out. When I woke up again the guy was furious. He told them to leave me there, that Jack would find me soon enough. It seemed almost as though he wanted Jack to find them." DiNozzo finally looked past Gibbs and winced. Gibbs looked around and saw Vivian.

"This is..."

"Vivian, I met her at the restaurant." Viv gave a tired little smile as Tony gestured for her to come in a take a seat. There was another beside Gibbs and she took that one.

"How you doin Tony?" she asked,

"Never better," he joked, then he asked, "How's Sam? I heard you guys found her."

Gibbs and Viv looked at each other. Tony looked from on face to another.

"She's going to be alright, yes?" Vivian shrugged

"We don't know. She lost a lot of blood. She passed out in the ambulance. She has several broken bones; she's got cuts everywhere, something that look like burns."

Tony knew her injuries were severe since he witnessed most of them happening, but he didn't realize quite how much damage there was.

"And…" Tony took one look at her face and shook his head,

"No, nuh-uh, no way, never," Viv nodded seeming drained.

"He told Jack, and Sam shows signs of it." Tony didn't know what to say. Another voice came from the door.

"The bastard is going to pay." Jack walked in, leaning heavily on a cane. He was still in his torn suit.

"Jack! You shouldn't be here," Viv exclaimed.

"Bad luck. I'm not going to sit around here while you guys find him." Jack replied

"At least take crutches for God's sake and what about the gash on your forehead."

"Nah didn't want them and I'll be fine Viv. Doc said I could even walk… in a couple of days." Jack's face was determined.

"I've gotta find him Viv. I made a stupid mistake, going there without back-up, and he got away. Now I have to find him, and bring him in," Gibbs knew that facial expression all to well. He wore it most of the time, when there was no way anybody was going to change his mind.

"To autopsy." Gibbs finished the sentence, and Jack laughed.

"Something like that, yeah." Tony looked at the two senior agents and found there was something scarily similar to when Gibbs was chasing Ari. They both had that same look on their faces. It was not a good time to be James thought Tony.

Jack turned to Viv, "do you know where Sam is?"

"She's still in surgery, won't be out for a couple of hours." Just then Viv's phone rang.

"Johnson. Hey Danny, what's up? Oh, shit. Uh-huh. Right, okay bye." Viv closed her phone.

"He's gone."

"What?!" Jack exploded.

"A guy at the airport recognized him. He had his ticket booked and everything ready before all this happened. He was the last to board the plane about 5 minutes ago. The doors are closed and the plane is heading for the runway."

"We've lost him then, what else is going on?"

"We had Danny put out a BOLO on the car they were driving and Agent McGee send out James' photo to all the bus terminals, train stations and airports and we got a hit on both the car and James. They got the photo too late to do anything."

"Where's the plane headed?" Gibbs interjected

"Mexico."

"We'll never get him out of there then." Jack said dejectedly. Gibbs smiled but said nothing. Just then a nurse came in to usher out Tony's visitors, she told them, politely but firmly that even though they were police, Mr. DiNozzo was in need of a rest. They all said goodbye to Tony, who looked slightly disappointed and trooped out of his room.

Jack limped over to the nurses' desk

"Samantha Spade?" he asked.

"Are you family?" She asked.

"I'm her boss." Jack pulled his I.D from his coat, "Jack Malone, FBI."

"Mr. Malone, Miss. Spade is still in surgery. There will be a couple of hours wait, before she comes out." Jack's first thought was to wait for Sam to get out of surgery.

"Can we have him detained in Mexico?" asked Jack. Vivian shook her head.

"Where is the man they found at the warehouse?" Gibbs asked.

"Jeff Lindall," Viv said, "He's being held. He was caught aiding an escaped felon."

"Can you get someone to interrogate him?" Viv hesitated, and glanced at Jack.

"Martin isn't doing anything." Jack's face went stony.

"Fine," Jack said, "could you ring him Viv?"

Viv went and rang Martin.

Gibbs and Jack took seats in the waiting room.

There wasn't much for them to do but wait… and hope.


	13. Chapter 13: Alternative

**Author's note:** this is a rathershort chapter, so I apologise. It's kind of an interlude, but I felt it was an important one.

Hours later Jack still sat in the waiting room, oblivious to anything else but the fact that Sam was still in surgery. Martin had joined him earlier in the evening, but they hadn't broken the frosty silence.

"Mr. Malone?" a man in a white coat came upto him, Jack turned his tired head.

"Yeah, that's me." Jack stood up, and straightened his ruined clothing.

"I'm Doctor Falzone, You are Miss Spade's boss? At the… FBI?"

"That's correct. Is she okay?"

"There was some bleeding in the brain and she has several broken bones, including her left wrist. There is a slight possibility she may never regain full use of that hand, but she should make a full recovery. There will be scarring both physically… and emotionally."

"She was r…" He couldn't bring himself to say the word, not in connection with Sam anyway. The doctor nodded his head sadly. Jack had to take a deep breath; otherwise he was going to shoot something. The doctor wondered whether there was more to their relationship than him just being her boss. Knowing how improper it would be to ask, Dr. Falzone pushed it to the back of his mind.

"Does Miss Spade have any family, next of kin?" The doctor asked

"Not that we know of." Martin, who had stood silently a little ways behind Jack stepped forward.

"Can we see her?" the doctor shook his head.

"She's still sleeping and will be for a couple of hours. I'd suggest going home and coming back tomorrow."

"We'll be quiet," Jack replied,

"Please?" added Martin. The doctor looked at them and sighed.

"Five minutes." Both felt similar feelings of triumph as he led them to her room.

"_One _at a time," Dr. Falzone said. Both stepped forward and looked at each other. Martin gestured toward the door and stepped back.

He went into the room, being as quiet as humanly possible. She looked peaceful, her blonde hair falling around her head like a halo.

"Hey Sam," he whispered, his voice cracked slightly, "God I'm so sorry." Her face was covered in bruises. A silent tear fell down his face, and he wiped it away before leaving the room with a whispered

"I'll be back,"

Jack nodded and thanked the doctor. He stood there for a few minutes waiting for Martin before turning and walking to his car.

"Jack!" called Martin. Jack turned back,

"What do you want Martin?" Martin struggled with the right words.

"Look, I'm sorry I hit you. I didn't mean what I said." Jack looked at him for a few seconds before replying.

"No, you meant every word you said. I did too. Just remember I had no control over the situation, I thought he was in prison. Its fine, but do that again and watch out." Jack continued on his way out of the hospital. He reached his car and got in. he rubbed his face tiredly. He'd go home, get changed and head back to the office.

The drive home took less time than the drive to the hospital. He opened the door to his apartment and went in. closing it behind him, he saw a person standing in his living room. Without thinking he drew his gun.

"Relax Jack, it's me." Gibbs stepped further into the light.

"Your door was open, I assumed you were home."

"What's up?" Jack asked

"He got away. Plane left the airport before we could do anything. He left us nothing to go on. Forensics scoured every inch of Samantha's apartment. We questioned Jerry Lindall, they were all hired muscle. He told them nothing of what he was going to do."

"Are you sure?" Gibbs gave Jack the look.

"Trust me."

Jack swore creatively.

"He also left you a note." Gibbs pointed to the bench-top. Jack went over and picked it up.

_Hi Jack,_

_Thank you for your lending me of Samantha, she was pleasurable company. Agent Gibbs I know you're there too. Thank you for Anthony. Although unexpected, I also enjoyed his company._

_You two are probably searching all over for me at the moment. I do hope you find me since I would be rather disappointed if you didn't. The FBI is likely to be pretty pissed at me. That's okay, where I'm going, they can't do anything anyway. Give you team my regards, and I shall more than likely see you soon._

_James._

"Officially, there's nothing more we can do. He's in Mexico and out of our jurisdiction."

"Unofficially?" Jack asked

"There's an alternative. You might not like it. I have some friends in Mexico. I'll see what we can do." Gibbs knew Jack was much like him in some ways. The bastard had also harmed DiNozzo, so regardless of what Jack said, he would do it his way.


	14. Chapter 14: She's Awake!

Jack sat at the table thinking about the alternative Gibbs had suggested. They no longer had jurisdiction on the case since he was out of their country. They couldn't make an arrest on Mexican soil and he was going to be damn hard to find. Jack glanced at the letter again. James _wanted _to be found.

He had taken a shower and changed into a clean suit. His team hadn't been home in a couple of days. He'd told them to go home and take a rest. Gibbs and his team had gone back to their hotels to get some sleep.

He wanted to go see Sam and Anthony again; maybe Sam would remember something more. It was only early, but hopefully she would be awake.

When he rose, his already bad leg almost collapsed under his weight after being shot again. Changing his mind, he eased himself onto the couch and slept for a couple of hours.

* * *

Gibbs sat on his bed, his hand itching to pick up his tools. DiNozzo was safe, and so was Sam. His thoughts went back to Kate, and to all the others that hadn't been found safe, to Jack; who would more than likely take him up on his offer. And to the rest of his tired team; he was proud of them. He didn't often say so, but he was.

He would catch him, sooner or later. First, he'd see that Tony was fine and he was back on his feet. Ziva and McGee had been worried sick about DiNozzo. They had both been ecstatic when they'd heard Tony was alright and back to his usual self. They'd gone to see him today in fact.

* * *

Samantha woke up slowly; she stirred fitfully for a few minutes before finally opening her eyes. She panicked when she felt the sheets around her, images of the previous night assaulting her eyes. She looked around uncomprehendingly.

"Miss Spade! Relax, you're in the hospital." A nurse was in the room, and Sam flinched away from her.

"Hospital?" she asked relaxing slightly.

"Yes."

"How'd I get here?"

"An ambulance bought you in. You had visitors earlier, while you were asleep. Two men came to see you, one was a dark haired older man who was shot, and the other one was a young man with sandy brown hair. They were very worried." The cheerful elderly nurse chatted on about what fine looking men they were as she checked up on how Sam was doing.

"There was someone else too. Another man, he had graying hair, blue eyes. He didn't come in though, just looked in the room." The face of her rescuer came to mind. Gibbs was his name, Tony's boss. _Tony!_

"There was another man brought in earlier than me, Anthony DiNozzo… is he okay?" Sam asked worriedly.

"DiNozzo? I can check if you'd like…" Sam nodded, but stopped quickly when her head began thumping painfully.

"Please," the nurse left the room. Sam finally took notice of her injuries. Her wrist was hurting like hell, and so were her ribs. She flinched as she readjusted where she was sitting. The nurse re-entered the room.

"He's fine, a couple of broken bones, and some bruising but otherwise fine. He's in good spirits."

"Can I see him?" Sam asked, already knowing the answer.

"Most certainly not." Replied the nurse indignantly, "you get your rest now, you hear?"

Sam smiled weakly and saluted with her good hand.

"Yes, ma'am," the nurse smiled

"Good girl. I'll be back within an hour." The nurse left Sam, who fell into a fitful sleep.

_Sam saw his face over hers again… felt his hands roam over her body… Sharp pain as he bit her… The rope cutting into her skin as she struggled against him, the bonds, the pain… The scary blankness that filled her mind afterward as she struggled against powerful emotions…_she felt somebody shaking her_…_

"Sam? Sam... are you okay?" Sam lashed out at the person beside her.

"Go away!" There was a thud and a muffled ow!

"Sweetheart, it's me, Jack." Sam opened her eyes. There was Jack, and the rest of the team. Danny was rubbing his stomach where she had just hit him. Vivian was looking at her worriedly, and so was Martin.

"Oh my God! Danny I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" Danny waved her off with a small grin

"I'm fine… you punch like a girl." He stepped back from the edge of the bed, Sam's flying hand just missing him. Jack was looking on in amusement. She noticed he was leaning heavily on a cane. The rest of the team looked fine though, a bit tired and worse for wear. There was a short period of comfortable silence between the team. They made small talk. Sam was given a humongous teddy from Danny, it was chocolate brown and Sam squealed in delight.

"Aww… it's gorgeous!"

"Well, only the best for you…" Sam laughed.

"That was sweet, thank you." Vivian's gift was more practical.

"I thought you might need some stuff for in here and some of your clothing for when you got out." Sam sighed gratefully.

"God yes, I can't wait! Thank you" Viv smiled.

"Trust me, I know the feeling." Sam couldn't meet the eyes of either Martin or Jack. While both understood, it still hurt. Martin gave her a bouquet of flowers, with a little balloon that said "Get Well Soon."

"Not the most original perhaps." Martin said apologetically

"No, I like them, thank you." Jack was the last of all. He gave her a couple of books, with puzzles and crosswords.

"I know you like crosswords." Their eyes met for a minute sharing in the memory, before Sam looked away.

"Thank you… all of you. You guys are great." Her eyes started to tear, "without you… well I wouldn't be here."

All three men looked uncomfortable, Danny said

"Hey, I'm going to go grab a coffee, any takers?" the other two were quick to follow. Viv and Sam took one look at each other and laughed.

"Men!" Viv shook her head.

"So, how you doin'… really?" Viv asked,

"I'm," the word fine was going to come out of her mouth, but she stopped it, "Crap," she admitted. Vivian looked at her sympathetically. Sam sighed

"Nightmares, I can't sleep Viv. Every time I close my eyes I see him, I can feel his hands…" Tears streamed down her face and Vivian looked on helplessly. Sam wiped the tears from her face.

"How long have I been out for?"

"Two days…"

"And how long was I with… him?"

"About 3 days." To Sam it had felt like a lifetime.

"How did you guys find me?"

"We didn't." Vivian admitted, "We made the ransom drop… he let you go."

"Did you catch him?" Sam asked urgently, Vivian shook her head gently,

"He shot Jack, and Agent Gibbs was looking for you. By the time he reached the roof he had to check Jack. Cooper made it to the airport, and the plane left before we could do anything." Sam's blood ran cold

"He's gone?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry Sam." Vivian felt so guilty.

"Well what can we do about it… Where'd he go? Canwecatchhim?" Sam began hyperventilating, "I can't … he's… and we… gone... he can't… what..."

"Sam! Breathe," Vivian said sharply, "Nurse!" The elderly nurse bustled in.

"Miss Spade!" she put the oxygen mask over her mouth and ordered Sam to take deep breaths. She calmed down after a few minutes. She began crying in earnest.

"I can feel him, Viv. The knife…" She shuddered. Vivian wrapped her arms gently around the terrified younger woman.

"Sweetheart, relax! Do you honestly think Jack will let him get away with this?" Sam thought about it.

"I thought you said there was nothing you could do?"

"There isn't anything the FBI can do officially." Sam understood the distinction and relaxed.


	15. Chapter 15: Now or Never

**Author's note: **Hello! Well here's the next short chapter, I'm updating much less frequently now, and I'm very sorry, but school just started and Year 11 is a pain… WAY TOO much homework... But I'll do what I can…

* * *

Jack looked at Gibbs dumbfounded.

"Not even he can be _that _stupid, can he?" Gibbs nodded.

"He's back… and in New York."

"What the hell's he doing back here?"

"Last he heard… there was some unfinished business to take care of." Gibbs said. What Jack could see of Gibb's face on the screen was worried.

"Guess he didn't get what he wanted last time," Jack replied grimly.

"Jack, be careful..." Jack laughed tiredly.

"I'm always careful. Thanks Jethro." The link cut off.

Jack couldn't believe his ears. James was back in the country. How on earth could he have been so stupid?

Jack made a couple of phone calls. Argued extensively with a few people, but got what he wanted in the end.

It had been about two months since the fiasco with Sam. She was recovering. Her arm had returned to full use. She still had some trouble handling her gun though. He had noticed how she kept her distance from the men on the team. Since she wouldn't allow them to help her, they cared from afar. Viv kept an eye on her, made sure she didn't fall into depression. The boys checked in, made sure she was okay. She was seeing the psychologist to help relieve the emotional scarring but it would take time.

Jack kept in touch with Gibbs. They had gone back to Washington over a month ago. Tony was nicely healing and had gotten absolutely no sympathy from his team after the first week of his exaggerated tales.

Jack called Viv into his office and asked her to shut the door. When she was seated, he broke the news.

"I just spoke to Gibbs."

"Yeah…"

"James has been seen back in the U.S… In New York in fact," The look on Vivian's face was incredulous.

"He can't have been that stupid Jack..."

"Apparently he has. Word is he has some unfinished business." Jack let the sentence hang between them.

"They want a team from the FBI to apprehend him."

"It should be us then! We were the ones who almost caught him last time,"

"We are on the case. It took a lot of arguing on my part. What I want to know is if Sam is up to it?" Vivian was silent

"I don't know. I think catching him… will help. But I don't think we should let her come with us."

"…I should tell her." Jack made the statement a question.

"Yeah, I think you should." Viv replied.

"Alright… could you ask her to come in here please? And could you fill in the rest of the team?" Vivian nodded worriedly and called Sam into his office.

"What's up Jack?" she asked as she sat herself in the chair across from him. Jack cleared his throat nervously.

"Umm… There's been a development in the case against James Cooper. He's back… in New York, and we've been assigned the task of bringing him into custody." Sam went deathly still.

"I want to be part of it." Sam told him firmly.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

_NO! _Screamed Sam's mind,

"Yes," said her mouth. Jack looked at her intently, and with a resigned sigh knew he shouldn't argue.

"Okay … Well get yourself ready. We're heading out." Sam nodded and left his office.

Jack opened his desk draw and pulled out his gun. He loaded and holstered it. His knee still ached, but he was cleared for field duty. He limped out into the central office, where the rest of his team was waiting for him.

He told his team the address. It was an old worn down warehouse, near to his former hideout. Jack couldn't understand what the hell he was doing there.

"Danny, you're with Viv, go around the back. Martin cover Sam," Jack said, "He's supposed to be on his own. It's definite that he's there. We've got back-up waiting. We'll go in, make the arrest. Bring him into headquarters… They want him alive. However, if something was to happen, don't hesitate to bring him down. Understood?"

They nodded and left.

Sam was deep in thought as she entered the elevator; her heart was pumping way too fast. She leant against the back wall with her eyes closed, forgetting that Martin was there with her. She took a few deep breaths to calm her nerves and only opened her eyes when she felt less shaky. Martin was looking at her in concern.

"Sam, are you okay?" He moved toward her and she took and involuntary step backward. He looked almost like a kicked puppy; the hurt was plainly on his face for her to see.

"I'm okay Martin… Just need space." He tried to give her a small smile to show he understood.

She tried to maintain that easy level of friendship with the boys on the team as before everything happened. But it was hard. The nightmares were plaguing her sleep, and every time one of them came near her, she flinched. They'd kept their distance too and for that she was grateful.

The car-ride was spent in silence with Martin driving. There were already units of the FBI waiting for them. Jack, Viv and Martin were there too.

"Ready? You and Martin take the left entrance, Viv, you and Danny take the back, I'll take the front with Amy."

The team spread out. They had other teams coming in after them. It was now or never.


	16. Chapter 16: I'm So Sorry!

**Author's note: **You're going to hate me by the end of this chapter. So I'm just going to go run and hide now.

* * *

Jack held his gun down, and slipped through the opened door. The corridors were dark, and his leg was killing him. He motioned for Amy to take the corridor to his left. She nodded and moved away. Going through the corridors, he became slightly nervous when he was looking and found nothing.

He cautiously opened the door to his right and glanced in. He suddenly felt the barrel of a gun at the back of his head. A hand crept around from the back of him to take his gun.

"You really don't know how much I want to pull this trigger." He heard a click, and Jack's throat worked convulsively, sweat poured down his face.

"Walk" Jack moved forward.

"Samantha!!" He called. His voice echoed loudly through the halls of the abandoned warehouse.

* * *

She heard him call her name, and a chill ran down her spine. She had to take a calming breathe to slow her suddenly rapid heartbeat.

"Sam?" Martin looked on worriedly. She waved away his concern, and kept walking toward the sound of her name.

"Samanthaaaaaaa…" Her name echoed loudly in the empty halls. It was louder, closer now.

Two men stepped out of a room, Martin had his gun pointed quickly, but Sam waited.

"Hey there," James said with a smile. She raised her gun, and had it pointed at his face.

"Uh, uh, uh" he turned himself and Jack slightly, showing her the gun pointed at the back of his head.

"Play nice." Sam caught Jack's eyes. He still looked calm despite his predicament; he had his "official face" on and only his eyes showed worry and the beginning of panic.

"Just let him go," Sam said. James pretended to think about it for a moment.

"Uhmmm… no, I tell you what, I'll kill him, and then… well, at least I'll be happy."

* * *

Jack could see Danny from the corner of his eye; he was coming in from one of the other hallways, as he reached the door Vivian came from the door opposite. Both had their guns pointed.

"Freeze," Danny called. Jack threw himself forward, out of James grasp. James spun to face Danny. He fired off one shot, before gunshots rang out from three different directions, and he fell face forward to the floor. Viv, Martin and Sam moved in on him and kicked the guns out of the way. Viv checked his pulse.

"Dead!" she called. Jack looked up from his place on the floor in time to see Danny collapse.

"DANNY!!!" he rushed over to his agent. There was a gunshot wound to his chest. Jack knew it was bad, fatal. Danny coughed, a line of blood coming from his mouth.

"S-S-Sam." he coughed, Sam came over, tears running down her face.

"Hey Danny," she said,

"D-D-Don't be stupid," She gave him a small smile, "C-C-Choo-se already."

Danny looked at each of his team members, and smiled sadly before his eyes glazed over and his body went limp.

"I'm sorry Danny." Jack whispered, "I'm so sorry." Sam broke down in tears, and collapsed into Jack's arms. Martin's usually stoic face was teary as his partner died. Vivian's face was white with shock, she stood there in disbelief. Martin walked over to her, and shook her shoulder gently. Viv looked at him and stood shaking silently in his arms.

Other teams had reached the scene and stood back respectfully as the members of the Missing Persons Unit grieved the loss of one of their own.

* * *

Although, they were loath to interrupt, one of the men went up to Jack,

"Agent Malone… You're going to have to leave the scene. We need to process the evidence." Jack looked at him blankly.

"Okay," He led Samantha away from Danny's body almost in a daze. Martin and Viv followed. They didn't go far, none of them wanted to leave Danny's body in the hands of the forensics team. Members of other teams took their statements, and offered their condolences, but when that was over, the team just stood and watched silently.

"Jack?" He turned his head toward the sound of his name; Van Doren had arrived at the scene.

"What the bloody hell happened?" She asked, "Somebody told me that Agent Taylor was shot, is he okay?"

Jack shook his head; he had to clear his throat several times before speaking.

"No, he's… not," he couldn't bring himself to say the word dead. Van Doren looked past Jack and his team to see two bodies being transported from the scene in body bags.

"I am so sorry Jack."

"Yeah, me too,"

"Go home, all of you. Get some rest; today's been a day to forget." She walked away to talk to someone else.

"We should go home," Jack began, Viv and Martin both nodded, they weren't able to cope with anything else tonight. Together, they walked to their cars. Martin got into the car and looked expectantly at Sam, who shook her head. Vivian walked over to her car, and asked Sam if she wanted a lift.

"It's okay Viv, I'll take her home." Jack said. Sam looked at him, startled.

"I have to stop by the office first… call Gibbs." Sam nodded. The drive was silent, very surreal. They went into Jack office and Sam took a seat on the couch. Jack went to his desk and grabbed the phone, dialling the number for NCIS.

"Gibbs?"

_Jack, what's up?_

"We got James, he's dead."

_That's great!_

"We lost Danny." There was a stunned silence at the other end of the line.

_Shit._

"That's one way of putting it."­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

_Jack, I'm sorry… how did it happen_

"He… got the better of me. Because of that, we lost an agent." And that was all Jack was going to say about a very difficult subject.

_We'll be coming down soon. Give me a ring when things are... organised. Sorry Jack, I have to go._

"Sure," Jack said, "I understand."

The phone clicked and Gibbs was gone. Jack put his phone down and looked at Sam

"C'mon, I'll take you home."

"Jack… I don't want to be alone tonight." Jack stopped mid motion and looked at her.

"Okay." The understanding was unspoken. He would stay because she wanted him to.

They drove to her place. There was a familiarity about it for Jack that would never really fade.

They sat together on the couch, each with a cup of coffee held tightly in their hands for warmth.

"What now?" she asked him.

"I don't know."

"Does life just move on?" she asked him sadly

"Yes… but the memories are there." He replied placing his coffee mug on the glass table beside the couch. She drew closer beside him and rested her head against his chest.

"He's dead Jack… Danny. Danny!" She said, "I don't know how life goes on with the loss of somebody who's become a brother." Tears poured down her face as the memories came, wave after wave of them. There was nothing he could do. So he held her close, and let her grieve.

­

* * *

**Author's note:** This chapter actually made my cry to write it. It was a choice between Danny and Martin dying, but Danny's death just seemed to fit in the story more. 


	17. Chapter 17: To Danny!

**Author's note: **_Second Last Chapter. Almost there, I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it._

Sam looked herself in the full length mirror. The black dress emphasised the dark circles under her eyes, and the sallow, unhealthy look of her skin.

_Danny's Funeral_

S

he still couldn't believe he was just gone. Like that. Within a matter of days, he was dead. She tried futilely to hide with make-up how tired she looked. In the end she just gave up and fidgeted. And waited. She paced for a bit. Made herself a cup of coffee. Let it go cold on the table. Finally the doorbell rang and she sighed in relief. She almost ran to it.

"Hey, it's me." Jack's voice called softly from the other side,

"Hold on!" called Sam, scrambling to find her keys. She unlocked the door and stepped aside for Jack to come in. Things were… more and less awkward than before he remained with her the night of Danny's murder, the scent of him and the feel of his strong body holding her as she cried. It was comforting, it was familiar.

Jack stepped inside and surveyed Sam. He noticed immediately, the unhealthy pallor of her skin and the blackness of her eyes.

"How you holdin' up?" he asked.

"All things considered? Pretty well." She replied with a sad little laugh. She caught his eyes and found herself tearing up again.

"I don't think I can face his funeral, Jack."

"I know sweetheart, but you have to try... or Danny might come to haunt you." He added wryly. Sam smiled, and wiped the tears from her face.

"He would, wouldn't he?" Jack picked up Sam's coat off the back of the chair and held it out. She slipped it on easily, and took a steadying breath. Jack looked at her with concern showing on his face. She noticed the look, and shot him a small smile. He relaxed slightly. She'd be okay, she was strong, he thought.

He courteously opened the door for her, and she stepped outside, allowing him to close and lock the door.

They once again drove in silence, only this time it was to the cemetery. Jack was focused on the road; to afraid to focus on anything else for fear of falling over the edge of the precipice he'd been straddling since Danny's death. The funeral may be the last straw.

Gibbs and his team had come down to New York for the week. They would be there today.

The cemetery was up ahead; Jack slowed down and turned into it. There were car spaces dotted throughout the car park, so Jack just parked in the nearest one, which allowed time for himself and Sam to compose themselves before attending the funeral. 

Danny only had a brother, who was in prison. It had then fallen to his team to arrange the funeral, fully covered by the FBI. There was no family there, but colleagues and friends. Sam had found a list on Danny's fridge of numbers that he called frequently with names attached. It had fallen to her, to call most of them. They'd organised for his brother to be released to attend, but the brother declined, saying that his being there would have only upset his brother.

They found the crowd easily enough and took their seats beside Viv and Martin. The mood was subdued, everyone was talking softly. Jack stared into nothing, brought out of his reverie only when Vivian nudged him, she gestured to their left. Gibbs had arrived. Jack stood and went to meet him.

"Jack," Gibbs held out a hand, and Jack shook it.

"Thanks for coming," Jack said.

"Be thankful he's on time," Said DiNozzo, walking up to them. Gibbs gave Tony a look that could kill. 

"Not that you're not… on… I mean you're always on…time" DiNozzo flinched, and turned to Jack.

"Hey," They shook hands and Tony offered his condolences. He went over to the rest of the team, getting as far away from Gibbs as possible. The minister came up to the two men.

"If you'd like to take your seats, we should begin the ceremony." Gibbs looked around. Ziva and McGee just arrived, Jack nodded his assent, and they took their seats.

The minister began the ceremony, but all Sam could see was the photo of Danny. He looked happy, she thought, tears running down her face once again. Jack had been asked to say something at the funeral.

"Jack Malone, his supervisor at the FBI, has been asked to say a few words." Jack rose to his feet and took his place at the podium. 

"Danny. It's funny, you work this job for years, you know that you're putting you're life on the line everyday, but you never expect to have to go through this with your people, not somebody so young. He's the reason I'm still standing here today. Many times he saved my life, and this time he paid for it. I regret that he'd ever had to step into that warehouse. And I'm sorry." A tear ran down Jacks face, his voice cracked. "Danny was a good man. He worked with me, with us, for a good few years, and it's a shame we have to say goodbye. We lost a crucial member of the team, but more than that, we lost a friend. God knows, he could be a pain in the ass," This drew smiles from some of the crowd

"But he always knew just how to make you laugh, it didn't matter what situation. I'm sorry Danny boy, rest in peace." There was silence as he stepped off the podium and made his way to his seat. Sam took hold of his hand reassuringly. They sat through the rest of the interminably long ceremony, the sound of weeping surrounding them.

Sam stood at the edge of the coffin, flower in her hand, remembering Danny's final words; _choose already_. _Her choice was simple. She'd thought about it over and over, yet she never brought herself to do anything about it. She'd honour Danny's last wish. She just hoped it wasn't too late._ She placed the flower on top of the pile, and walked away. Martin stepped up.

"Sorry man," and threw his flower atop the pile. Vivian was next; she dropped her flower on top of Martin's.

"Sorry Danny." Jack was last. He said nothing, simply stood there for a few moments. At long last, he placed his flower on the pile and walked away to join his team, who stood with the NCIS team.

"Who's up for a drink? In memory of Danny." Martin suggested. The teams agreed,

"Usual?" Jack asked, his team nodded, but the other team just looked confused. Jack typed the address into McGee's blackberry and both teams left. They reached the bar in a short time and were seated around a table with their drinks in hand.

"To Danny!" Sam said raising her glass.

"To Danny!" they said in unison, clinking their glasses.

_To Danny_ thought Jack.

* * *

**Author's note: **_We're almost to the end now._


	18. Chapter 18: Anniversary

**Author's note: **_Well here we are at the last chapter. I had fun, I hope you did too. Thank you to my reviewers, in particular those who commented more than one chapter, or constantly. To **Viki**, whom I frequently bugged to read over my chapters… Thank you especially. Let me know what you think._

* * *

There was a solemn mood in the office; it had been a year to the day. They had a new member of their team now. Her name was Elena. She was nice enough, but she wasn't Danny.

Sam's attention just wasn't focused on their newest case. A twenty year old woman was missing; she'd gone to the shops and had never returned. She felt guilty for that, but it was too hard to concentrate. As she sat staring blankly at her screen, Jack came to her desk.

"How's the search?" he asked quietly, making her jump, he quickly stifled a laugh when she turned to glare at him.

"Do you _have_ to do that?" she asked. He flashed her a cheeky grin.

"John Michael Malone… I am going to…!" He pressed a finger softly to her lips, and she was sorely tempted to bite it. He quickly moved his finger when he noticed the look on her face.

"Be... nice!" he told her firmly, "The only person who _ever_ called me John Michael, was my mother, and only when she was pissed off."

It was her turn to grin. He shook his head mournfully.

"How did I deserve this?" he asked, looking skyward. Her grin simply widened.

"The case," she reminded him,

"Right!" He mentally kicked himself for getting caught up _again_.

"I don't know anything." Sam said, Jack just rolled his eyes, shook his head and walked away to catch up with the rest of the team.

"Jack!" she called, "Are we still…?"

"Yeah, tonight," Sam was relieved, she thought because of the case they wouldn't be going.

The day wore one, and the missing girl was found dumped about 20 miles out of New York. She was barely breathing and the doctors weren't sure whether she'd survive the night. The missing persons unit had done all they could, it was time to go home.

Well, not quite.

* * *

They stood in silence at the end of the grave; Jack had an arm wrapped around Sam's shoulders, she leant forward and placed the flowers atop it. Jack moved away, in order to let her have her time. He knew she and Danny had been close.

_Hey Danny_ thought Sam, _Sorry I haven't been down here, but I am now. Look, I took your advice. Me and Jack are giving it another go, well pretty much since the might he stayed. Maria's out of the picture and his kids don't seem to mind me. God I miss you. _

She glanced at Jack who was seated a couple of metres behind her on a bench.

_We're thinking about moving in together. It feels right, I think. God, I don't even know myself. But what the hell, I'm tired of being scared._

_Viv's doing okay. Martin… not so much. He requested for a transfer off the Missing Person's Unit, he wants deskwork I hear. I also don't think he could handle me being with Jack now.__ I feel bad, but I am happy now._

_It was hard you know, after that day. It just got really bad for a while, but one day at a time. _

Sam would have laughed if she could have seen herself, she was talking to herself. It was crazy, but it felt almost as though Danny was there with them. It was ridiculous. She missed him like crazy.

* * *

Jack got off the bench as Sam walked back to him.

"Ready?" he asked uncomfortably. She just nodded and they walked back to the car.

"Where to?" he asked.

"The rest of the team was heading for a drink…" Sam mentioned.

"Okay." He replied and they drove to the bar making small talk and gently teasing.

His hand slipped into his coat pocket as they got out of the car, grasping the small jewellery box.

"Sam!" he called, "Before we go in, can we go for a walk?" She looked at him curiously

"Sure, where we going?"

" It's a surprise," he told her with a small smile. She looked at him in exasperation.

They walked the streets of New York, until they reached a spot that he seemed familiar with.

"Do you know what happened here?" He asked quietly, she looked around, finally realising where they were.

This was thier spot. A place they both went to when they needed some time out. It was also the place of thier first date. Thier very _first_ date, that oh so many years ago.

"Jack, what's..?" She gaped at him as he went to one knee.

"Samantha Spade, will you marry me?" She stood there in astonishment. He looked at her with his heart in his eyes. He wasn't much, but he would offer her all he had. Her face broke out into a grin.

"Yes, i will, Jack Malone." His shaky smile was enough to reassure her that she was making the right decision. He slid the ring onto her finger and she hugged him. They both tumbled onto the soft grass laughing like idiots when Jack lost his balance.

_Well,_ he thought ruefully,_ at least i made her laugh. S_he rose to her feet gracefully. Jack tried to get up, but rose on the wrong knee and fell over again. He rolled his eyes as she laughed at him. Finally taking mercy on him, she helped him to his feet. He wrapped one arm around her waist and they headed back to the bar to tell the team the good news.

Things were alright. They would make this work.


End file.
